Breaking News

Critics, supporters, pack Denver City Council illegal camping hearing

It was standing room only, Tuesday, April 03, 2012, as Denver City Council committee hears from the community about a ban on unauthorized camping. (RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post)

25 year old Terrin Callahan resettling her small sleeping area on Broadway in downtown after an early morning April snowfall in Denver on Tuesday. Callahan has been here for a least a year. "It's not fair cause you can't prevent homelessness. We lost everything in the sweeps. How can you dress for a job when you don't have anything?" she said. (Joe Amon, The Denver Post)

More than 100 supporters and opponents of a proposed ordinance that would "ban unauthorized camping" in Denver crammed into a committee room at the city and county building this morning, to hear information on the legislation.

Sponsored by District 8 City Councilman Albus Brooks, the ordinance — which would go into effect this summer — has been in the works for months and would make illegal any temporary, unauthorized camping on public and private property throughout the city.

"It's inhumane to have people sleeping outside," said Brooks in his opening remarks before the council's Land Use, Transportation & Infrastructure committee

"I just want to make it as clear as possible that this ordinance is about behavior and not about status," said Denver Assistant City Attorney David Broadwell, who helped Brooks pen the bill.

But John Parvensky, president of the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless — who is in staunch opposition ordinance — said that his organization is not promoting that anyone should be able to sleep anywhere in Denver.

Advertisement

"We're concerned that this ordinance will create a dynamic that with the lack of of available shelters will lead to the criminalization of being homeless," said Parvensky. "It will be a status crime in Denver."

In remarks to the committee, Bennie Milliner, director of Denver's Road Home, said that there's not enough shelter space to meet the needs of all that are currently homeless in Denver.

Milliner — whose office is neutral on the matter — said that he doesn't believe that if the ordinance were to go into effect that it would push Denver's homeless population to the suburbs.

"Fifty-eight percent of the metro area's homeless population resides outside Denver," said Milliner, referring to a graphic that revealed a breakdown of homeless populations in areas such as Arapahoe, Jefferson and Adams counties. "It's about 42 percent of homelessness is here in Denver."

Parvensky said, "At the coalition we have 2,000 people who are mentally ill and homeless, who are on a waiting list for services. Yet we can't serve them, because we don't have the ability to provide those services," Parvensky said.

Still proponents of the legislation argued that the ordinance is needed.

"It's impacting businesses and the perception of our communities when we have mass camping in our center city," said Tami Door, president of the Downtown Denver Partnership, a nonprofit organization that manages and develops the area.

Some councilors contended this is an item that should be presented in the Health, Safety, Education & Services Committee .

"The issue of homelessness has a lot to do with public safety and it goes beyond a public works issue," said District 3 Councilman Paul Lopez .

Moreover, opponents to the bill have noted that funding for services and homeless shelters has been slashed and that many of those shelters close or reduce their number of beds during the summer.

At-large Councilwoman Robin Kniech said she plans to propose a handful of amendments to the current bill.

"It is immoral and constitutionally questionable to criminally cite someone for sleeping on the street if no shelter alternative is available. My amendments would clarify that only if alternatives are available can someone be criminally cited for using a blanket on our streets to keep themselves from freezing to death," said Kniech in a statement.

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and several downtown business owners have voiced support for the ordinance.

Not all kids who play baseball are uniformed with fancy script across their chests, traveling to $1,000 instructional camps and drilled how to properly hit the cut-off man. Some kids just play to play.